


Iggy to the Rescue!

by Waywocket



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Paranoia, Poison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 18:26:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10542033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywocket/pseuds/Waywocket
Summary: A ten year old prince hears that people try to kill royals by poisoning their food. Ignis finds the cure for a paranoid price.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This took WAY longer than I had planed (Not that I really had a plan mind you) but I do enjoy how it turned out. As I don't have anyone to help me proof read and correct my screw ups; Criticism and other comments welcome!

King Regis let out a frustrated sigh glancing at his son from across the table. The prince had always been a terribly picky eater, even for a normal ten year old, but now he was refusing to eat anything at all. Noctis had even refused his favorite juice, instead choosing to cross his arms and glare at everything in front of him.

After another bite, the king took the napkin to his lips before he spoke, “Noct, what’s wrong? I thought you enjoyed your chicken and rice?” Turning his gaze from his food, to his father, Noctis pushed everything away from him, knocking over his drink, dark liquid spilling onto the white table cloth. Before Regis had a chance to react, the servants were on the spill, quickly trying to wipe it away, soaking into the towels, and their sleeves. 

Heaving a heavy sigh, he tried to keep his composure before he addressed his son, “Now come on, Noct. This isn’t like you at all. What has you so troubled you’d refuse food?” There was a small mumble from the little prince as he crossed his arms again, pressing his chin against his chest. Regis prompted him again, trying to get him to speak.

“Poison,” said the prince, still refusing to look up, “I heard someone say people poison our food.” The king’s eyes went wide and he turned to his servants. Most quickly stood up straight, raising their hands in defense, another ran out of the room, calling over her shoulder that she would bring a medic to look at Regis right away. Shaking his head, the king leaned back in his chair, it was hard to believe what his son had said. Looking down his nose, he saw his son watching the servants quickly taking the food away, and sighed.

“And who, Noctis, told you they were trying to poison us? Surely that’s something you should have mentioned sooner.” The boy shook his head, bringing his hands to his seat, trying to bring himself up higher as he spoke to his father, “He didn’t say he was going to poison us. I heard him talking to other servants, said it happens all the time.” Noctis’ voice rose as he continued, giving the doctor a start as she entered the room, “I don’t wanna get poisoned!”

She hurried to the king, who raised his hand, turning his head to speak to her, “False alarm. Noctis heard someone talking about how it happens, no one’s threatened to kill us tonight.” Fidgeting slightly, the doctor made to put her things away, still eyeing the king and prince with concern. Closing his eyes tightly, Regis rolled up his sleeve as far as it would reach. Everyone would worry now that his son had said it, and the test was easier than trying to convince everyone of otherwise.

“I warn you, my blood pressure is probably going to be high, I wouldn’t worry about that.” The king chuckled as the doctor quickly went to work, nodding once as she did so. The tension in the room eased for all, except Noctis who watched the doctor prod at his father, wincing when a needle went into his arm. As blood filled the syringe, the boy looked away, needles were worse than vegetables.

Running a few more quick checks, the doctor gave the all clear and stood, she turned to go to the prince, but Regis lifted his arm as he pulled the sleeve back into place. Shaking his head, he gestured to the stain on the table cloth, “He hasn’t eaten anything.” Giving a final nod, the doctor took her leave the king and prince. Turning to his son, Regis laced his fingers together and rested his chin upon them.

“There, see? No poison what so ever. Would you like a plate now? It would be a shame for you to miss out on your favorite dinner wouldn’t it?” Noctis shook his head, standing up and looking at his father, “I’d rather not risk it, can I be excused please?” Sucking in a deep breath, Regis held it a moment before pushing it out in a sigh. He would like to fire whoever put these thoughts in his son’s head, but he knew it was a mistake. Nodding his head, he too stood from the table, watching his son hurry out of the room. 

“Find out who put that atrocious thought in the prince’s head and bring him to me, please. I’ll get this sorted out some how.” With that, the king retired to his study for the evening.

 

The next morning, Noctis woke to Ignis gently shaking his shoulder, and a grumbling belly. Ignis had already set out clothes for the day, and easily helped the prince change as he began to tell the prince the schedule for the day.

“After breakfast you’ll go to-” He was quickly cut off by Noctis yelling ‘no’ at the word breakfast. Ignis let out an annoyed sigh, fussing over Noctis’ collar. He had been warned about the previous night, but he had hoped going to bed on an empty stomach would have tempted the prince. It would only be a matter of time before the hunger got to Noctis, or so Ignis had hoped. 

After half an hour of Noctis staring at his cereal, Ignis had to relent, soggy cereal was no breakfast anyway. Clearing away the dishes, he placed a glass of water in front of the prince, “At least drink the water, Highness. As you can see, it’s still colourless, scentless, and if you take a sip, tasteless. You’ll be bed ridden before the days out if you don’t at least drink something.” A long pause, and Noctis very cautiously took a small sip. Satisfied that it was safe, he quickly drank the rest of the glass, the cool water easing the hunger pangs in his stomach. Clearing away the glass, Ignis gave an inward sigh, it was small, but it was a victory. Maybe shortly he could tempt Noctis with something sweet. Normally he would be against giving the prince sweets, but desperate times he supposed. 

Noctis was struggling to read his history book, the growling in his stomach was distracting, and he was feeling a bit light headed now. For the last hour, he had hardly made any progress in his chapter, growing more frustrated by the minuet. This was the last bit of homework he had left in his personal studies, before he was allowed a break to play, not that he had the energy, all that Noctis wanted was a nap. Furrowing his brows, he forced his eyes to the pages, trying to get through the rest of the chapter. Just then there came a knocking on his door, and Ignis’ voice followed, “Highness, I have an afternoon snack and tea for you.”

Wheeling in a small cart into the small study, the smell of freshly baked chocolate cake and sugar cookies filled the room. Noctis’ stomach ached at the smell, he could nearly taste the frosting as the cart settled next to him. Quietly, Ignis poured a cup of green tea for his charge, adding an extra spoon of sugar, as Noctis had always begged, but Ignis refused. Today, even if Noctis ate a bowl of sugar, Ignis would feel better, if only slightly. Placing the tea on the prince’s desk, Ignis moved to cut a large slice of cake, placing it on a plate that was dwarfed by the slice, along with a couple cookies. He put the plate next to the tea, standing expectantly at Noctis. 

“I don’t like you having so much sugar, but I think you’ll need the boost of energy to make it through the rest of your day, Highness.” Looking at the offering, Noctis felt his mouth go dry, and he struggled to swallow. Noctis tried to hide behind the book, trying to focus, but he could see the temptation beyond the edge of the pages. Ignis would never poison him, maybe this food was safe, he tried to reason. But fear still crept at the edges of his mind, Ignis would never poison him, but someone could have tricked him and given him bad food. Chewing on his lower lip, Noctis brought his book up to cover his face entirely.

“Nu uh, don’t know it’s safe.” Ignis groaned loudly at the prince’s words, desperately wanting to pull at his face in irritation. Reaching forward, Ignis took the book away from Noctis, slamming it on the desk. It took every piece of him to keep from screaming, “Do you truly believe I would try to poison you? Do you not think that’s more than mildly insulting?” Ignis adjusted his glasses, only to hide his face from the prince. The idea that he would do something so treacherous was difficult to swallow, he had been only perfectly loyal to the prince.

Watching his advisor, Noctis felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He meant no harm to Ignis, only; “You wouldn’t do it, but that doesn’t mean someone wouldn’t give you bad food.” Noctis mumbled, his eyes falling to his desk, and the temptation set out in front of him. That was when he saw Ignis reach for the plate. Fork in hand he dug into the slice, leaving a large piece on the utensil. Looking to make sure Noctis was watching, he put the bite in his mouth and chewing. Ignis did find chewing a bit difficult, as the bite was more sizeable than one should eat at once, but he persevered, showing the prince that the food was indeed safe. 

Noctis seemed to convinced, as Ignis put the plate down, but there was an uncalculated risk. Ignis stopped breathing, his eyes went wide as he tried again to push the food down his throat, hoping it was simply his throat being a little dry. Beating on his chest, Ignis tried his best to clear his airway, panic setting in. Noctis however had already been lost to panic as he began screaming for help. Noctis knew nothing of the heimlich maneuver but quickly moved to bring his hand across Ignis’ back as hard as he could. After the first two tries failed, he quickly ran to the door, throwing it open with all the might a ten year old could muster. Screaming down the hall he begged for help, for someone to save Ignis. Down the hall multiple servants came running, even his father was rushing through the hall, Clarus following quickly behind him. Jumping at the doorway, Noctis moved out of the way pointing at Ignis, tears streaming down his face as adults filled the room. 

Ignis’ face had turned a deep red, though how much was from lack of air and how much from embarrassment he would never admit as he continued to bang on his chest. With a simple glance, everyone understood what had happened and King Regis quickly turned Ignis and lifted him off the ground. Balling both hands under the boys sternum, he quickly pushed in. Nothing at first, but Regis tried again, and again, until there was a choking sound and a large piece of chocolate fell to the ground. Air filled Ignis’ lungs in strangled gasps as he tried not to cry, coughing as the air burned his throat. 

There was a sudden rush of questions, everyone wanting an explanation as to what happened, Ignis still trying to catch his breath. Noctis however knew the answer, “Poison! Told you someone was going to try!” There was a mummer as the servants started amongst themselves about the rumor going around about poisoning the prince. Some even praised Ignis for protecting him, before Regis felt his frustrations boil over. Raising to his full height, he waved an arm, silencing the room.

“There’s no poison, just a paranoid prince. Off with you, you all have duties to finish I assume?” Almost as quickly as it filled, the room was empty, save for the boys, the King and his shield. Turning to his son, Regis did his best not to glare, but the wince on the boys face showed his failure. With a sigh, he spoke as calmly as he could, “Noctis, there is no one trying to poison us. And thanks to your insistence, Ignis choked. I think it’s time for you to go to your room, I’ll have lunch sent to you later,” Turning back to Ignis, he spoke over his shoulder, “And you will eat it.”

Pouting, Noctis trudged his way to his room, followed by Clarus. Once in the room, he flopped onto his bed, feet dangling off the edge. Hurting someone was not what Noctis had wanted, he only wanted to avoid being poisoned. As the king’s shield took the door and began to close it, he spoke in a stern voice, “You need to learn how your actions affect those around you, see this as an example.” Face pressed into his pillow, Noctis let himself be swallowed by his self created darkness, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. Even as the pillow got wet, he stayed still, until sleep took him. 

There was no way to know how much time had passed when the sound of an opening door woke him. Voice muffled by the pillow, Noctis grumbled, “I don’t want any food.” He heard a familiar sigh and sat up. Ignis was standing at the end of his bed, arms crossed over each other and an amused smile played on his face. Once Noctis had settled himself on the bed, Ignis relaxed his arms, one coming to rest on his hip, the other lax at his side.

“Come on, it’s lunch time, Highness.” As the prince began to protest, Ignis raised the arm at his side, silencing him with ease. Turning, he waved over his shoulder to the door, “I think I’ve found the cure to your fear, Highness. If you’ll come with me, we can finally get you fed.” Noctis nodded, pushing himself off the bed and following close behind Ignis. Both boys wound around the halls, eventually coming down a hall Noctis had no memory of. At the end of the hall there was a large double door, one door propped open with a stopper. Ignis made his way through it, motioning for Noctis to do the same. Once he crossed into the room Noctis looked around, there were large stoves and metal tables filled the room. 

Ignis had found an apron in the empty room, and had brought a stool up to one of the large tables. Moving around the room, he brought a plate of vegetables and a smaller on of chicken to the table, along with a cutting board and knife. Pushing the stool to a stove, he brought a pot of water to it, stepping up to place it on one of the burners, turning on the heat, letting the fire lap at the metal. Back to the table, he looked down at Noctis and smiled.

“If you see me make it, you know it’s safe, and it’s only us so no one can sneak around us.” Grinning, Noctis nodded, moving to watch Ignis chop the chicken. After a moment Ignis had finish, he pulled over the plate of vegetables, but was cut short by the sound of the King’s voice.

“It’s not safe to use a knife on vegetables after you’ve cut raw chicken.” Stopping, Ignis looked at the blade, small globs of chicken fat still clinging to it, his ears turned pink. Looking from the blade, his eyes went to a curious Noctis, then to the King who stood, leaning on the doorway, smiling in amusement. Carefully Ignis climbed off the stool and pushed it to the sink, “I’ll wash it first.” The small group laughed slightly and Ignis continued to cook for Noctis, finally filling his growling belly.


End file.
